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Differential Explodes at Drag Strip, Punctures Gas Tank at Texan Racing Event

The world of drag racing recently saw its capital temporarily moving to Texas, with the TX2K16 event delivering tons of drag strip thrills. However, not all the races gave the audience reasons to applaud.
Differential Explodes at the Drag Strip 1 photo
Photo: YouTube screenshot
Let's take the blue collar battle in the piece of footage below, for example. The pickup truck drag race saw a Nissan's rear differential exploding during Christmas Tree play. As the light duty machine was preparing to take off, the diff decided it was time to quit.

Given the obviously pumped-up contents of the engine compartment and the massive levels of grip, guaranteed by the combination of the prepped surface and the racing slicks, the differential had to cope with a lot of stress.

While one might be tempted to think this is the kind of drag strip machine whose owner cut corners when building the thing, you should know this isn't the Nissan's stock diff.

Instead, we're dealing with a good old Ford nine-inch diff - pay attention to the soundtrack of the video and you'll hear one of those witnessing the drag race confirming we're dealing with Blue Oval hardware here.

And while the crankshaft spinning in mid air might seem amusing, the blown diff meant a small river of oil flowed over the starting area. The slippery stuff was obviously cleaned, but this caused the racing to be put on hold, so the spectators were just as annoyed as the owner of the vehicle.

Speaking of which, the differential isn't the only part the driver of the Nissan has to replace after the unfortunate incident. As the diff exploded, shrapnel hit the gas tank, puncturing it. With sparks flying under the car, this is an episode that could've ended much worse.

Luckily, fire wasn't an ingredient of this violent recipe that left the Nissan stranded at the start of the race.

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About the author: Andrei Tutu
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In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
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